Rwenzori politics, indeed a tip of an ancient iceberg between state and cultural institutions.

July 4^th 2014, the almost long forgotten chaos returned to the mountainous regions of Rwenzori after “unknown” group of armed assailants launched synchronized attacks on major govt installations. The attackers had enveloped their mission objectives under existing ethnic tensions between the Bakonzo and Ba-amba ethnic groups that dates back to 1950s before establishment of the state Uganda by colonial powers.

In the 80s, anomalies between state and cultural leaderships in Rwenzori had prompted creation of the ADF rebel group that had taken advantage of the then confusion between state and the kingdom by promising to settle repressions and unfair treatment of the minority, by installing an Islamic state system of governance on Uganda!

Now by then, the young and wise Mr. Museveni stealthily applied wisdom he had gained through long analytical study of faulty lines in various cultural settings in Uganda that had been left destabilized by colonial powers and early state operators. He skillfully involved processes of dialogue, amnesty and compensations to minority groups that felt mistreated and misrepresented. He had recognized co-existence of state and cultural institutions as a core value in forming peace deals throughout Uganda.

Days that followed people who had been involved in rebellious activities against the state (imams, tribal chiefs, princes and kings) abandoned their hostilities and were re-united through amnesty in nation building activities. In those wonderful days, the president’s wits in conflict resolution had worked a miracle on the self exiled Mumbere of the Rwenzururu [earlier believed to have been a potential  force that drove the ADF] into coming back home and represent his people in Ugandan politics through cultural leadership.

But today, there seems to be a change in the winds and mentalities that helped in forging peace and various freedoms as we’ve known them. Whispers are heard in corridors of power advising the president to reconsider liberties of cultural institutions, while at the same time requesting an iron grip on the Muslim communities of Uganda, but what happens if cultural leaders find an alternative to their current predicament or if currently the state fails to account for the three murdered Muslim clerics with links to past conflicts?

UGANDA AND NRM IN THE SCOPE OF 2012

It’s now been 26 years since the NRM took power on the 26^th day of January 1986 through a bloody armed struggle that was aimed at liberating Uganda from post colonial dictators. Like in any armed struggle, many Ugandans lost lives, loved ones and lots of property. But, all was quickly dominated by a cult of the hero and the victor.

This trend didn’t come as a surprise to me. Not at all.     

A large number of totalitarian regimes had just disappeared from the political stage, many parties that had contributed in the power struggle found reason not to look back to the past. The fear was that an alliance would be harmed as a result or that the fragile balance between powers of yesterday, which were still armed, and the present could be upset. All attention was focused on the triumphant armies, the resistance fighters from the jungles of the famous Luwero triangle. For some time, the painful past memories were silenced through state orchestrated propaganda tools of the so-called National building and conflict recovery projects!!! But honestly, how does that really supposed to work?

As I have always said, Democracy built on piles of lies and fear is as worthless as garbage itself. In Uganda today, we are all (please mark the term ALL) experiencing how uncertain the future of Democracy has become!   It is as if, confronted with the realization of our powerlessness, we are no longer able to focus on yesterday without a huge question-mark hanging above DEMOCRACY. Using the codes of today, we are re-weighing the past. Our individual contributions that had helped bring the NRM into power were wrong, we think now. The values we had joyfully sacrificed for, have proved to be nothing but vain hope. The economy has been sank in much deeper waters than before, the Police force we have now learnt is just another state ran torture machinery designed to break and totally crush the patriotic spirit of Ugandans. The judiciary and legislature are nothing but a smoke screen, a toothless and blind Tiger. What use is it for any country when Laws are made but not meant to be kept? Why should we even call ourselves a living model of Democracy when still the Executive at any given time can influence negatively the business of the Judiciary and legislature? A racket designed to fool the global community that all is well and that finally Democracy has been achieved in Uganda!!!!???

After going through all these complexities and hostile political environments, we are left with only one option. REALISM.   

Achieving true peace, re-writing a new constitution, refurbishing the electoral commission fit to conduct free and fair elections, cleaning up the civil service and Judiciary, enforcing respect for human rights, stabilizing the currency, breathing new life into industry, demobilizing rebel groups, guaranteeing a minimum of physical security, helping the victims of past conflicts, keeping the international community on-side. All this has to be done. Failing to do so, Uganda of tomorrow we might as well just forget it. Today 95% of Ugandans are all covered with symptoms of a society on the brink of violent revolts which if let lose, will wreck this country into tiny unrecognized pieces that will never med.

Let us learn some lessons from the Arab up-rising.

Mubarak of Egypt and the famous April 6 movement that initiated the downfall of a brutal dictator in a non-violent way, a discipline that has been long forgotten. Activists demanding regime change, research and study closely their approach in achieving their objective through non-violent means, acquiring trust from their followers by keeping their word of honor not to misuse that trust by causing much bigger wounds than the regime they were peacefully fighting. The masses are plainly taught the whole truth behind the movement. They had learnt that it was the truth people were seeking of their leaders and that they were more than ready to make sacrifices for that value, the other thing was about identifying the people of Egypt along the lines of victims and the true perpetrator. Forming a strong bond of brotherliness with the riot Police, government officials, politicians and even the military. This awareness stirred them to a radical change, from the inside-out. All built on a solid foundation of truth and people understanding themselves better. The global community isn’t involved directly but preserved with a roll of an observer and given a neutral platform to advise.

But again, there’s another example of these revolutions initiated by disgruntled members of the ruling party, sacked ex-government officials, double play by insiders seeking a chance to get even and using the general public as bet, exploiting political infancy in our communities.

Take Libya for example, the truth was that Libyans had seen enough of Gaddafi and the truly wanted him out, but the fear that the Gaddafi regime had strongly built among the Libyan people had isolated them from knowledge and reason on how Democratic mechanisms really operated. Leaving a gap that was quickly occupied by political opportunists, scavengers who later hijacked the people’s true revolution. Today Gaddafi and his sons are gone, but lately the people of Libya have found themselves in more chaotic political environments than when Gaddafi was still their leader. So, does this mean that maybe Gaddafi was right and them wrong? On the contrary, it all had something to do with their approach towards change.

RETRO-GRADE?

For the past fifteen or twenty years, I have heard the famous NRM gospel centered on the justification of the past, specifically their actions in the bush war and the transition period after the war. Yes, they now admit. Maybe we haven’t been good enough than our predecessors or our actions back then are at least in conflict with the values we cherish today!! Maybe today the public isn’t to blame but us, maybe at the zenith of our rule, the past has come back to haunt us?? Maybe it’s time for us to listen, understand and accept what Ugandans have to say whenever they cast their vote; maybe they’ve lost trust in their leaders to conduct National business in their absence? Maybe transparency can save the day, maybe, just maybe………… but at least they deserve the right to know and decide what is good for them. After all, it’s their country too.